Ode to My Local Borders

I'm so sad today. My favorite Borders in Bolingbrook, IL, is one of the 200 Borders that are closing. I wrote my very first book in the cafe in this Borders. This was when I had no idea I'd ever be a published author and was just giving writing a try. A lot of people don't like the big bookstores and try to only shop or appear at independent bookstores but this particular Borders has always been so good to me, even when my local independent bookstore wouldn't even take my calls because I wasn't a big enough name. For starters, the general manager of the Bolingbrook Borders, Lynn Nulicek, herself came to my launch party for The Espressologist (held at a coffee shop) and hand sold the books. Lynn is completely amazing!

And Lynn and Borders welcomed me and my friends from The Debs for a holiday event in 2009. (That's Cynthea Liu, Lara Zielin, Aprilynne Pike, me, Darcy Vance, and Saundra Mitchell).

Kristin Walker, Kimberly Pauley, and I had a super fun Valentine's Day event there as well in 2010.

Kristin and I were regulars at the Bolingbrook Borders, doing the Teacher Appreciation Days and Reader Meet Author events. And they always spoiled us with samples from the cafe.

This past fall I had my launch party for My Fake Boyfriend is Better Than Yours at Borders as well.

I've had so many happy memories at this store. I'm just so sad to think there will be no more events for me at my favorite Borders. I'll keep doing events at other stores and libraries but this Borders is like home. :-(

Whoo hoo! February Bestseller!

WHOO HOO!! I'm on Scholastic's Bestseller list for February!! Off to dance!

This week...

This past week has been fun!Last Saturday I participated in a reading/discussion/signing with Elizabeth Eulberg (Prom & Prejudice) and Kristin Walker (A Match Made in High School) at The Book Stall in Winnetka. We had such a good time! Elizabeth is completely lovely and reads with really fun voices and Kristin is as fun as always.

(Elizabeth, Kristin, and me)

We had lots of fun in the middle of the week with the 2011 Snowpocalypse. Since the kids had snow days we stayed in and had one big long blizzard party. I think we had 20 inches of snow here. Of course it snowed a few more inches today as well. It feels like the snow isn't going anywhere soon!

(Snow up to our front door)

(The back yard. The patio set got totally buried and the snow reaches the top of the fence. The kids loved it!)

I also got the Japanese version of The Espressologist in the mail this week. It's SO COOL! I knew what the cover looked like but I didn't realize that you read the book backward. So when you open the cover you pull to the right not left.

And you read from right to left too. You can see the first chapter mark on the right side of the page. The little coffee cups on the pages are so cute!

Other than this stuff I'm writing like crazy! I've been working on a new book that I really am hoping to get done by the end of the month. Not sure if I'll make it but I'm trying!

I'm hanging out more on twitter lately too-- @TinaSpringer

Have a good week!

A Great Read...

I just finished reading SNOW FLOWER AND THE SECRET FAN by Lisa See and WOW, what an amazing book! It seriously was one of those books that you just can't stop reading, even though you should be working on your own books. A fascinating and beautiful story. I'll admit, just looking at the cover the title was a bit odd to me and the fan image didn't draw me in. Had I just walked by it in the story I likely wouldn't have picked the book up. But it's a word-of-mouth type of book and I'm telling you, you've gotta read it. Here's a description from Lisa's Web site:

"A language kept a secret for a thousand years forms the backdrop for an unforgettable novel of two Chinese women whose friendship and love sustains them through their lives.

This absorbing novel – with a storyline unlike anything Lisa See has written before – takes place in 19th century China when girls had their feet bound, then spent the rest of their lives in seclusion with only a single window from which to see. Illiterate and isolated, they were not expected to think, be creative, or have emotions. But in one remote county, women developed their own secret code, nu shu – "women's writing" – the only gender-based written language to have been found in the world. Some girls were paired as "old-sames" in emotional matches that lasted throughout their lives. They painted letters on fans, embroidered messages on handkerchiefs, and composed stories, thereby reaching out of their windows to share their hopes, dreams, and accomplishments.

An old woman tells of her relationship with her "old-same," their arranged marriages, and the joys and tragedies of motherhood—until a terrible misunderstanding written on their secret fan threatens to tear them apart. With the detail and emotional resonance of Memoirs of a Geisha , Snow Flower and the Secret Fan delves into one of the most mysterious and treasured relationships of all time—female friendship."

The Espressologist Paperback Giveaway

Congrats to...

Cathy

You won the giveaway! E-mail me (Kristina at KristinaSpringer dot com) your full name and address (and if you want me to sign the book to you) and I'll send it on the way!